Andre Iguodala Could Repeat as M.V.P. of N.B.A. Finals

With the Golden State Warriors a game away from winning back-to-back N.B.A. championships, they are once again in a position where they do not yet have an obvious most valuable player candidate for the finals should they finish off the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The casual fan would probably pick Stephen Curry, the N.B.A.’s first unanimous selection for most valuable player during the regular season, who finally broke out with a 38-point barrage in Game 4 but has otherwise posted pedestrian numbers. The stats-obsessed watchers of the game might choose Shaun Livingston, Golden State’s backup point guard, who has had a remarkable impact on the series despite a modest amount of playing time. The easiest choice might be Draymond Green, the backbone of Golden State’s defense, who was clearly its best player in Games 1 and 2 and was a thorn in Cleveland’s side in Game 4.

But through four games, the most intriguing candidate may be Andre Iguodala, the veteran swingman, who won the award last season for his bend-don’t-break defensive containment of LeBron James and has been at it again this year, making a clear and verifiable impact on James’s ability to control a game. Going into what could be a decisive Game 5 on Monday, Iguodala will probably come off the bench, but with the game on the line he will surely be fearlessly standing between James and the hoop, a duty few have succeeded at to such a high degree.

If Iguodala, 32, were to win consecutive M.V.P. awards in the finals, he would join Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and James as the only players to accomplish the feat since the creation of the award in 1969. If Iguodala, a one-time All-Star who has started just one regular-season game in the last two years, is to join those luminaries, it would require those who select the finals M.V.P. to again look past traditional statistics and judge him on his impact on James while also giving him credit for offensive contributions that do not necessarily show up in a box score.

One of the most intelligent players in the N.B.A., Iguodala performs a variety of duties, and is capable on any given play of frustrating a defense with a perfect pass, a powerful dunk or a crisp 3-pointer. But he is just as happy to create space and open looks at the basket for his teammates rather than adding to his own statistics.

“I just happen to be one of the guys that can try to fulfill any void a team needs on any given night,” Iguodala said. “I’ve been in the league a good amount of time, and I just feel like I have a good understanding of the game and what my team needs for me to bring to the table.”

Against the Cavaliers, the Warriors need him to limit James as best as he can. Despite giving up 2 inches and at least 35 pounds to James, Iguodala is having a dramatic impact on the superstar. In the 10.9 minutes a game that James plays with Iguodala on the bench, the Cavaliers have outscored the Warriors by an average of 7.8 points. In the 29.1 minutes a game that Iguodala and James are both on the court, the Warriors have outscored the Cavaliers by 12 points a game.

James hits 66.7 percent of his shots with Iguodala on the bench. When Iguodala is on the floor, James shoots 43.3 percent and his turnovers go up, his rebounding percentage goes down, he passes more and he shoots worse from virtually every spot on the floor.

The strongest arguments against Iguodala’s being M.V.P. are that he has seemingly had more help from Green in defending and frustrating James this year, and his offensive output has been a bit more modest. But over all, he has picked up where he left off in last season’s final.

For his part, Iguodala credits Curry for the Warriors’ success, and is quick to point out that the game is far different for players like James and Curry in terms of pressure. Their every move is dissected, and if the cost of a loss is to fall on their shoulders, the credit for a victory should go to them as well.

“It’s going to be a story if one guy plays well and the other one doesn’t,” Iguodala said of James and Curry. “And one team has to lose, and one of those guys is going to get the blame.”

Of course, there is still time for things to change and for a consensus M.V.P. to emerge. Curry could have another game like Game 4 and make things fairly easy for the voters. James could improbably lead his team to the first comeback from a three-games-to-one deficit in finals history. Green, whose passing is nearly as good as his defense, could post a triple-double in the deciding game and run away with the award.

But for now, it is hard to argue against Iguodala, who does the dirty work that helps his teammates shine.

Correction:

The Keeping Score column in some editions last Sunday about the possibility of Andre Iguodala’s repeating as the most valuable player of the N.B.A. finals misstated, in some copies, the number of games that had been played in the finals at the time. It was four, not five.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page SP9 of the New York edition with the headline: A Case for Iguodala as Finals M.V.P.. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe